On Idaho Street across from the Flying M Coffee House is a building. A resident of Boise might say that the building is only the carpet store. Well, they are half right. The building is now a carpet and Asian import store but, in past history, its life was more interesting. Originally, the building was used as two separate apartment buildings. John C. Paulsen, also the architect of the famous Boise Natatorium, constructed these houses in 1892. Paulsen constructed the apartments for Attorney R.Z. Johnson, but when the panic of 1893 began, only two of the four apartments were completed. In 1998 there was a fire that charred part of the second floor. To maintain the original structure, the owner, Dan Ronfeld, minimally restored the building leaving the charred wood. Today, the two apartments have been conjoined into one, the Davies Reid Building.
The outside of the Davies Reid Building holds many characteristics that reveal the building?s main architecture style, Queen Anne. The first characteristic that points to the Queen Anne style are the stones that lie at the bottom of the building. These stones can be seen as cutstone (large stones used in the foundation) or corbelling stone (stone that is used for decoration or support). A Queen Anne structure is also characterized by a gabled roof, a roof where two sloping structures come together at one point.
The gable roof is also a characteristic of the Tutor Revival. On either side of the towers, a gable dormer can be found. Each dormer is decorated with lacy woodwork that is also characteristic of the Queen Anne style. This style is also seen in the vertical windows and the large oriel window pattern on the second floor. The criss-crossing of thin wood that decorates the upper outside level of the building reveals the Tutor Revival influence. The arches above the doorway hint to Romanesque influence as well as Tutor and Queen Anne. When interviewing the manager and owner of the building, Dan Ronfeld, it was disclosed that Flemish Romantic style also influenced the structure of the building. Inside the building houses: original hardwood floors, 12 fire places, 2 staircases, beautiful door frames, and other structures that have created a classical look.
Behind the Davies Reid Building is a smaller brick building that is now obtained by Scandinavian Down; interesting enough, the owner of Scandinavian Down is the granddaughter of one of the ladies who grew up in the Davies Reid Building. The building itself was once the family law firm, which was probably run by Attorney Johnson. Behind Scandinavian Down is the old carriage house that continues the brick style.

A Note On Accuracy
The Idaho Architecture Project (IAP) is a community engagement initiative from Preservation Idaho. All images on this website were taken by IAP participants unless otherwise noted. This catalog consists of submissions from community members, students, historians and preservation experts. Because of the varied nature of these submissions from novice to expert, there may be historical or narrative inaccuracies. Please contact us to report any necessary corrections.